Parkwood Elementary receives State Achievement Award

Parkwood Elementary School.  Photo courtesy Shoreline Schools

Parkwood Elementary in Shoreline is a recipient of the 2011 Washington State Title I, Part A Academic Achievement Award, which includes a $10,000 monetary award.

The award honors those schools that have significantly raised student achievement in mathematics or reading through an identifiable strategy.

Parkwood's Reading Block is a collaborative model of instruction for all students in grades K-3. All classroom teachers, ELL (English Language Learners), and Title I staff work collectively to teach primary students in small, flexible groups targeting their individual skill level. 

The instructional team shares common screening and progress monitoring tools, and develops flexible groups based on this data. Students progress through the block depending on their individual acquisition of skills, rather than by grade level or teacher assignment.

Laura Ploudre, Principal
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

"We share a building-wide approach to teaching and learning that is characterized by high expectations for all learners, and a meaningful expression of care for all members of our learning community," said Parkwood Principal Laura Ploudre.

The mission of Title I, a federally funded program, is to assist children from low-income areas with their basic skills. Only those Title I schools that have met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in math and reading for the last three years were eligible to be nominated. 

Twenty-five different languages are spoken in Parkwood students' homes, 50 percent of its students qualify for free/reduced meals, and 19 percent of the students are enrolled in its ELL program.

Parkwood was previously awarded the Title I Academic Improvement Award in 2007, 2010 and 2011, for showing significant gains overall in mathematics and/or reading proficiency.

In addition, Parkwood was awarded the Washington Achievement Award for Overall Excellence and Closing Achievement Gaps in 2010, which is awarded collaboratively with the State Board of Education (SBE) and based on the Washington Achievement Index.

"I'm very proud of these schools," said Randy Dorn, State Superintendent of Public Instruction. "The achievements they have made are a shining example to the rest of the state that all kids can learn, even with challenging circumstances."

The awards are given to schools that have exceptional student performance or that have demonstrated significant progress in closing the achievement gap. The purpose of the program is to honor the work of successful Title I, Part A school teams, while providing model strategies to assist other schools.

The award-winning schools were determined using the following criteria:

• School improvement facilitated by collaborative instructional team.
• School has defined process/strategies that were used to achieve improvement.
• School improvement can be supported with test data.
• School strategies/processes address the Nine Characteristics of High Performing Schools (pdf).
• School strategies have the potential for adoption by other schools.

Ploudre said Parkwood would use the monetary award for professional development for staff and to continue and enhance the school's intervention efforts to improve student achievement.